Happy International Tatting Day!!!

Well, today is the big day we've all been waiting for! Today, my friends, is International Tatting Day! What? You don't believe me? You must think this is some kind of April Fool's Day joke, right? Well, according to Holiday Insights it really is International Tatting Day! Here is what they have to say about the matter:

"When: Always on April 1st
Tatting Day has been celebrated internationally for over 4 years now. April 1st is the International Tatting Day.
Tatting is a needlepoint skill of making delicate, elegant tatted lace. It is enjoyed by thousands of people.
On this day, "tatters" around the world have different activities, mostly educational, to celebrate their hobby, and introduce it to others. Often, they celebrate by eating chocolates and making tatted lace."

Now, let's focus on the most important phrase in the whole paragraph: "Often, they celebrate by eating chocolates and making tatted lace."

Did everyone get that? So what do we do on April first of each year, no joking? Answer: EAT CHOCOLATE and make tatted lace!!

So, let me see if I have the proper tools to celebrate properly!

~*~

CHOCOLATE?CHECK!

Tatting? Check!

Are you guys noticing the MOST IMPORTANT

thing about Tatting Day, LOL?

It's all about the CHOCOLATE...

....er...um...

I mean tatting, yeah, that's right!

It's all about the tatting!

Hee Hee!

~*~

Oh, I'm sorry, were some of you here for something else?

I think I do remember

a little something about a giveaway!
would you like to know who won the giveaways?

Alright, alright, I'll get on with it, already!

;)

~*~

I went to Random.org for a little assistance.

With 225 comments I didn't have

time to write everyone's name down

and draw from a hat!

Believe me I feel honored that there are that

many people who would want a book on learning to tat

and stop to wish me a happy blogoversary and

100th post along the way.

Thank you so much!

~*~

Okay, so for the first giveaway prize

(the book, tatting shuttle, and thread): Congratulations, comment #78

Jane B of Hillside Threads !!!

********

For the second giveaway

(the book and stiffened tatted heart):

Congratulations comment #73

Melissa of Honey Bee's Bliss !!!

********

Winners: send me your snail mail addresses.

Congratulations, again, to both of you!

~*~

Thank you so much for stopping by to celebrate Tatting Day with me! Okay, okay, I know, some of you just wanted to see who won and I'm TAT-ally okay with that, LOL! I'd love to hear from you! Comments are always welcome here. I love 'em and I read each and every one of them. Have a wonderful day and have some chocolate now that you've had some tatting eye-candy!

Happy Tatting!

~TattingChic

xoxo

May I Have A WORD With You?

Few phrases strike more fear in my heart than this one! When someone utters this infamous phrase then one of two things goes through my mind. The first thing that I think of is, "Uh-oh!!! What did I do NOW?" the second thing that might go through my mind would be, "WHAT!?! What is it!?! WHAT!?!". Neither one of these thoughts are very pleasant nor are the feelings they evoke, *LOL!

You, however, can just relax! When I say "May I have a WORD with you", I mean just that! A WORD or two or three or maybe four or more! *LOL! We use a lot of words when we blog, don't we? Even if we mostly show pictures; there are words written and used in blogging. There's no denying it. I was inspired today when reading this blog post on April Showers' Blog! She posted a word cloud that Wordle.net put together for her by putting in her blog URL. Curiosity got the best of me and, of course, I had to try it out!

~*~

Here is the result!

It uses the words you use most as the largest words, *LOL!

You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Hmmm... "Tatting" and "giveaway" are the largest words on there.

Go figure!!!

Try it! You might learn a lot about your blog! *LOL!

~*~

So, what did I do with the rest of my day?

I started a new *WIP!

Wanna see?

It's the start of Lady Shuttle Maker's

Royal Diadem tatted doily design!

I also ordered some very special

custom silk *HDT to tat it in!

I have heard it said that when you are

tatting a large project for the

very first time it's wisest to tat it

in a less expensive thread.

Why, you ask?

The reason for that is just in case you make a mistake...

...you might have to do ghastly things to your project.

Like perform...

*****...GASP...*****

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn!!!

TATTING SURGERY!!!

(Insert woman's scream from horror movie here)

EEEEEEEEEK!!!!

Yes, it's true it happens and I have the photos to prove it...see?

It's all good, though because I'm practising in

the much less expensive

Valdani perle cotton threads!

See?

I bought these particular balls of Valdani thread

after viewing this post on Lace Lovin' Librarian's blog!

I had to run right over to Beadinmama's eBay shop and

see what all the fuss was about.

I wasn't disappointed!
She's even painted a custom gourd shuttle for me!
(More on that later...stay tuned!!!)

One thing I really like about

Lady Shuttle Maker's Royal Diadem

doily pattern book is that she put these

little babies right inside the front cover!

See? They are picot gauges;

custom made just for this pattern's design.

Isn't that cool!?

Now THAT's customer service!

~*~

Well, now that I've had a word with you I'd love for you to have a word with me, *LOL! It's all good, right!?! Comments are always welcome and I cherish each and every one of them! Thanks for letting me share my latest *WIP with you! I have a poll on the top right side bar of my blog and I'd love to have your input on that as well! I've been busy with *OWOH visitors and being a visitor myself so I'll get around to my regular blog visiting soon, I promise!

Be sure to stop by the giveaway post to enter by commenting on that post! You have until February 11, 2009 to sign up.

Love,

TattingChic

xoxo

*Acronyms:

WIP = Work In Progress

HDT = Hand Dyed Thread

OWOH = One World One Heart

LOL = Laughing Out Loud

WIP It Good!!!

Does anybody remember "Devo"? LOL! Oh, I am sooooo an 80's girl and I'm okay with that. So what does tatting have to do with "Devo"? They had a song back in the 80's call "Whip it". One of the lines was "Whip it good!". Well, that's what I've been up to..."WIP"-ing it good! I've made some progress on my WIP (Work In Progress).

~*~

Here, I'll show you what I mean...

See?

I'm almost done with my "secret" WIP!

Now, I'm sure some of my tatting friends can
guess what pattern I've been up to, right?

Right, Jon? ;)

Do you like the shuttles?
They are from Georgia Seitz.

~*~

For those of you totally stumped by my 80's flashback reference,
here's a hint.

(The rest of you can just reminisce in the insanity that was the 80's.)

Don't ya just love those red hats?
What was up with those things, anyway?

Ahhhhhh... memories

~*~

Thank you for letting me take you on a trip, yet again, down memory lane! You've been a fabulous passenger on this trip, LOL! Comments are welcome...as are any updates on any WIPs you might be working on!

WIP it! WIP it good!!!

Toodles,

TattingChic

xoxo

Confessions of a Tat-o-holic...

I learned a lot about you all from the humorous comments from my last 2 posts! From Anne B's comment I learned a few NEW Acronyms to add to the acronym insanity around here...

***
...such as:

UPP's = UnPredicted Projects

MFP's = More Fun Projects

NTBDNP's = Need To Be Done Now Projects

***

These are the sorts of things that one would cast aside a UFO for. We all remember what UFO mean's, Right? If you are new to this blog...and new to blogging and crafty blogger's acronyms you may click on this link in order to brush up on your acronym vocabulary. Otherwise we shall commence with the confessions, shall we? The other thing that I learned is that many of you were surprised that I took a break from tatting to even EAT!!! LOL!!!

Okay, now for the confessions. Are you sitting down??? If you are not sitting down I recommend that you do. Find a comfortable chair or stool or something and plant your laurels on it because I think I'm going to burst a few bubbles here. Brace yourselves...

~*~

CONFESSION #1

I have not tatted since October of 2008.

It is now January of 2009.

That means I haven't tatted for 2 months and 1 week.

~*~

BREATH!!!

~*~

CONFESSION #2

I cast aside my many UFO's for a MFP/NTBDNP.

~*~

Okay, it's over. The confessions are over. Are you all okay? Now, I never purposely meant to deceive anyone. After all, during the last 2 months of posts did I ever say "I am currently working on this" or "I recently made that"? No, I did not. Most of the stuff I've showed you is either stuff from wayyyyyy back when that I've been dying to show you or it's stuff from exchanges, etc.

BUT, yes, there it is, the BIG BUT...not to be confused with my own big "butt"...I have broken the tatting drought today. Yes, TODAY I started an MFP! Would you like to see?

~*~

Tah-dah!

There it is!

It's being tatted in Opera brand white thread (size 20).

The shuttle is from Georgia Seitz!
(Merry Christmas 2008 to me!)

What is it, you ask?

I'm not gonna tell you.

Wanna guess? I'll let you!

You'll find out more on this later!

~*~

Whew, now that the confessions are over

I have something a little less intense to share with you.

It's an award!

Kathy, from Kathy's Crazy Moment's

gave me this award.

Thank you, Kathy!

I am honored that you would share an award with me!

Here are the guidelines for this award:

This blog invests and believes in the

PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships.

These blogs are exceedingly charming.

These kind bloggers' aim to find and be friends.

They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement!

Our hope is that when the ribbons

of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

Please give more attention to these writers!

These are some very wonderful gals to visit.

They are thoughtful, friendly and have so many wonderful ideas.

The rules don't say how many to list,

so for right now I pass the award to the following people:

***

Melissa from Honey Bee's Bliss

Becky from Wonders Never Cease

Anna from Thimbleanna

***

Thank you for being sweet bloggy friends to me and many more bloggers.

Actually, I could've given this gift of an award to all of you.

I guess this leads me to

CONFESSION #3!
I am too tired to post ALL of you! LOL! :O

It's true!!!

~*~

Thank you for stopping by to indulge in the sordid life of a tatting blogger. SCANDALOUS! I know. It'll be our little secret, okay?

**WINK** ;)

**WINK** ;)
**WINK** ;)

Okay. Have a fabulous time in your touring around blogland and don't forget to leave a comment before you go! That is, if you feel like it! They are welcomed with open arms and I read each and everyone of them.

Have a fabulous day!
~TattingChic

Spreading the LOVE for UFO's and WIP's! ;)

Sounds like someone is wanting for zyprexa and xanax, doesn't it? ROFLOL! I'm not sure the ROFLOL part helps me plead my case for the fact that I haven't gone COMPLETELY bonkers, just a little bonkers.

Perhaps a look at the crafting and blogging glossary will be of some help for you (and me, LOL!)

ROFLOL = Rolling On the Floor Laughing Out Loud
We all knew that, right?
UFO = UnFinished Object
WIP = Work In Progress
which leads us to
my own acronym
LIP = Lace In Progress

Okay, back to business... AHEM... (clearing throat as this is going to get serious, folks) With the arrival of the new year being thrust upon us whether we wanted it or not, whether we were banging the doors down for it to get here, or not; it is here. There is something about the arrival of a new year that causes us to reflect upon...

...wh...what's that?...
Who was making the comments from the peanut gallery?

...was that YOU!?!...

....oh, sorry... Is that TOO serious for you? Do you want me to just say it without getting all flowery on you? Okay, so don't ya just love the feeling of a clean slate? You know, like a chance to get it right this time. Or perhaps the new year causes you to reflect on the unfinished...like the pile of UFO's (we all know what UFO means in this instance, right?) floating around in your craft box, corner, closet, or (for those of you fortunate enough to have one) ROOM! The funny thing about UFO's is that if left unattended long enough; they really do turn into some sort of UFO (Unidentifiable Floating Object)! Let me share with you some of mine. Mind you, it's only some of them. It's mostly tatting. Although there is some knitted poncho still waiting for me to get the fringe installed on it. Remember when ponchos were really "IN" a few years ago? At least they were here in So. Cal. Yeah, but that's a WHOLE 'NOTHER BLOG POST, folks! ;)

~*~

Here are the
Tatting UFO's!!!

Make way for the
Tatting UFO's!!!

UFO #1 A glove design I had been working on 12-15 yrs ago until

I saw some italian magazine came out with

THE SAME GLOVE DESIGN!!!

What IS UP with that, folks???

UFO #2 Some doily thingy I was working on.

Don't even ask me the thread size or the

pattern because I just don't know, LOL!

Here's a close-up of the LIP.

UFO #3

Can you tell I abhor finishing ends??

Am I alone in this, LOL!

;)


UFO #4

A future pin cushion cover.

UFO #5

A future fan ornament...no, really, it is!

UFO #6

These are going to be coasters...

...that will one day look like this,
only all in ecru thread (monochromatic).

UFO #7

A future mat.

BWAH-ha-HA-ha-ha-ha!!!

I know, I know,

Isn't it funny?
I've got a ways to go.

That's probably why it's still only 2 squares.

UFO #8

A Victorian era edging pattern that I was trying to make

evolve into a snowflake.


UFO #9

This is going to be attached to a

linen "round".

Only I'm going to have to MAKE the

"round" because it's not very

user friendly with the pre-made

"rounds" available today.

***

Here's a close-up of the edging.

It has needle-lace that I sewed

into the centers of the medallions.

See?

UFO #10 This one was started in the current millenium because

I've got my "magic thread" already tatted

inside of the double stitches.

I only learned magic thread in the last 5-6 yrs.

See, the magic thread near the top of the doily?

It's in rose-pink colored thread for contrast

with the working threads.

UFO #'s 11, 12, & 13

Some experiments with 3-shuttle tatting.

These are over 15 years old.

These eventually evolved into FO's (finished objects).

I'll show you that FO later!



UFO #'s 14, 15, 16, & 17

These insertions were my fabulous

brainstorm for choker-style necklaces

a few years ago.

They are still waiting for their thread ends

to be taken care of and their clasps to be attached.

***

And then there's THIS ONE.

I'm not EVEN going to show a photo of it

because it has stalled. It is at the exact same spot

of progression. And didn't I say I'd have it done by

Christmas? Well, I think I meant next Christmas, LOL!

~*~

And now for the award.

No, this is NOT an award for

having the MOST UFO's!

Although, I would be

a close runner-up to be sure.

Some of you could have me beat

by a long shot, couldn't you?

This is an actual blogging award.

Laurie from Laurie's Charming Designs

gave me this fabulous

Spreader of Love Award!

Thank you Laurie,

for giving me this award.

I want to share it with just a few people

that have been loving bloggy pals.

Just a few, mind you,

because I couldn't

possibly list ALL of you!

1) Laura from Laura's Tatting Muse

2) Bella from Bella Sinclair Doodlespot

3) Kathy from Kathy's Crazy Moments

Gosh, I want to list every single person who has made my day a little brighter and I don't think blogger would even have the capacity list all of you. I have loved each and every giveaway, comment, award, exchange, tatting supply purchase~!!!

Goodness, thank you ALL~! I LOVE ALL OF YOU!

I seriously couldn't have made it through 2008 without YOU!!!

~*~

Thank you for stopping to see what all the fuss was about. I appreciate any help or advice you'd like to leave me...LOL! Just kidding, cuz NOBODY really wants advice do they? Even when they ask for it they REALLY don't want it. Okay, maybe sometimes they do. In case it wasn't clear, that was a joke about the advice. However, if you would like to leave a comment, feel free~ Perhaps we could turn this into a UFO-aholics Anonymous support group. A "UFOA", if you will. So any comments of support and encouragement are, well, ENCOURAGED! Enjoy working on whatever UFO's you may have. If you have none, what are you doing with them; throwing them away??? LOL! Oh, you're one of those remarkably organized peeps who gets EVERYTHING done? Oh, yeah, people like that don't exist, LOL! Unless you are Martha Stewart, in which case, we all know that Martha Stewart has teams of peeps working for her, right? Hopefully there is no one engaging themselves in the delusion that Martha Stewart is perfect and gets it ALL done. God bless her, but she sure is pretty dang ambitious, though! Isn't she? How did I get off writing about Martha Stewart, now? I love you, Martha! Okay, I don't LOVE you, that would be kinda wierd/awkward, but I do admire your work!

Now, I'm talking to Martha Stewart and she isn't even HERE!!! On second thought, maybe I do need that Zyprexa!

Oh, nonetheless, your comments are welcomed and each and everyone of them are read and enjoyed! Hope to see you all again soon in the blogosphere...if we haven't lost our minds with all those UFO sightings!!!

Love,

TattingChic

xoxo

A LIP and a Promise

A Lip and a Promise...what is that? Have you ever heard the saying "A Lick and a Promise"? It's a like an apologetic way to say..."I've not much time right now, but I PROMISE there'll be more later!" Well, slowly but surely I've been working on my silk tatted snowflake. It's my current "Lace In Progress"; you know, my "LIP", LOL!

~*~

Here is my LIP!

As you can see

it has "sprouted" another "arm"

since the last time I posted about it.

I've promised myself I will get

this snowflake done before Christmas, LOL!

~*~

Now for the "Promise" part.

Recently Sandra Evertson

had a giveaway!

On November 30th she

announced her winners!

She said,

"Second prize of a WWC exclusive tote bag

& treasure box goes to Tatting Chic!" .

Here are some photos from her blog

(with her permission, of course)

of the 2nd of 3 prizes she had.

A "Where Women Create" tote bag...

...and a box of treasures!
I was delighted to come home

from having fun with a friend to

find a package from the mailman on my doorstep yesterday!

Inside were the items in the photos above.

She also surprised me with this card she created...

...and this delightfully whimsical

altered journal!

(edited 12/08/08 Sandra left a comment on this post

saying, "The altered Journal is a piece]

I did for Romantic Homes magazine a bit back.

Enjoy!Sandra Evertson". Isn't that totally cool?

It's not just ANY altered journal...

...it's a FAMOUS altered journal!!!)

~*~

I think I will use it either to write my poetry in

or jot down my tatting patterns inside!

~*~

What do you think I should use it for?

~*~

So, the "Promise"...

I didn't forget...

...I PROMISE to show you what is

inside this little

treasure box!

See!?!


Little treasures!
There's even a tiny compass to help me find
my way in my creating!

There's also a lucky penny and other lovely little treasures!

~

Thank you, Sandra!
I love the treasures that you sent!


If you have not had the pleasure
of visiting Sandra's blog yet;
you simply must visit!

She is an amazingly talented artist
with a flair for an "elegant whimsy".

~*~

Thank you for letting me share my "LIP"

and promise of little treasures with you!

Come back and visit anytime, but before

you leave, feel free to leave a comment below!

I treasure your comments, too!

Love,
TattingChic

:)

A WIP and a Worm

Ewwwww! A WIP and a WORM!?!

No, this is not some depraved dominatrix fantasy, I promise! It's just a play on words, silly me. I have to admit when I was still in the "lurking" phase of blogging that I had no idea what a "WIP" was when I'd browse all the crafty blogs. I was so grateful when I found a blog post that explained what it was. Let me educate you if you are confused.

WIP = Work In Progress

~*~

See?

Worm refers to "Bookworm Award" which we'll get to later in this post.

I'm currently working with Lady Shuttle Maker's

Silk HDT size 60 called "Helm's Deep".

The Lace in Progress
(hey, that's a new term, "LIP")

is from Denise Munoz's book

"Snowflake Roses"

and I am working on

Snowflake # 3 from that book.

Here's a better look at the

current LIP (lace in progress)

I like the way the silk thread shines in the sun!
Just look at that beautiful shimmering silk thread!

See why this is called "tatter's heronine"???

If you click on the photos they will enlarge and

you can see what I mean in a larger than life way, LOL!

It feels as good as it looks.

The thread just slides like a dream into place.

It's as smooth as...well...SILK!

I know, I know,

who posts 3 photos of one little piece of lace

that's not even done yet!

LOL! I do!

~*~

I do also have an award to share with you.

It's the "Bookworm Award"

given to me by the lovely

Kathi from Lavender, Lace and Thyme.

Thank you, Kathi!

This award has some fun rules with it.

It's like an award/tag combo.

These are the "rules"

Pass this on to 5 blogging friends.
Open the closest book to you,

not your favorite or most intellectual book,

but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.
Write out the 5th sentence,

as well as two to five sentences following that...

Okay, so the book closest to me was a tatting book!

Imagine that!

It was, "Tatting Over A Cabone Ring"

by Sadie Allison.

Now tatting pattern books are full of dramatic, riveting

sentences, just to make you aware...LOL!

(note the sarcasm?)

Page 56 line 5 says,

(I'm using lines 5-7)

"Sh 1 Wind 30 complete turns of thread onto the shuttle

Sh 2 Using a different color thread, wind 25 complete turns of thread onto the shuttle

Sh 3 Using the same color thread as Sh 2 (CTM) wind 25 complete turns of thread onto the shuttle."

HEY YOU!!! WAKE UP!!!!

Okay that said, 25 or 30 complete turns of

winding thread around a shuttle, LOL!

What if you are using a Jan Stawasz shuttle

like I have in the photos above?

Have you seen the size of the post on that shuttle?

It's SKINNY! This thread measurement isn't

going to work for every shuttle, LOL!

That's the "JOY" of tatting patterns today!

Every author has their own way of

communicating something and they

usually only reference it to how it works for them...LOL!

'Nough said!

WOW! I'm not even talking

about the award anymore am I?

I'm just rattling on about tatting

patterns so you probably thought that

I had forgotten who I was going to pass the

Bookworm Award to, right?

Wrong! Hee hee!

I'm passing it onto:

1. Diane of Lace-lovin Librarian OF COURSE, with a blog name that has the word "librarian" in it how could I resist?

2. Kathy of Kathy's Crazy Moments

3. Jeff of Bridge City Tatting

4. Becky of Wonder's Never Cease

5. Tara of Tatted Lace Treasures

That was fun!

Enjoy the award/tag, winners!

~*~

Once again, it is always fun to share the latest in my corner of bloggerland with you. I always enjoy the visits of blogger friends; new and old alike! Comments are welcome and I read each and every one of them. I cherish them all!

Toodles!

~TattingChic

P.S. Oh, Laurie from Charming Designs posted her prize she won from my giveaway!

Click here if you'd like to see what she had to say!

She also put some darling painted vintage spoon ornaments on Ebay with starting bids of only $0.99! What are you waiting for? Get on over there and bid~before she comes to her senses! LOL!!!